Stem cell therapy is the process of injecting stem cells into an organism or person in the hope that they will differentiate and replace damaged tissue, or to repair specific tissues or to grow organs.
What makes stem cells tick? — Researchers identify phosphorylated signaling proteins in human embryonic stem cells. – Investigators at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) and The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have made the first comparative, large-scale phosphoproteomic analysis of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and their differentiated derivatives.
Stem cells cultured on a simple contact lens to restore sight to sufferers of blinding corneal disease. – In a world-first breakthrough, University of New South Wales (UNSW) medical researchers have used stem cells cultured on a simple contact lens to restore sight to sufferers of blinding corneal disease.
LIN28, which maintains cell ‘stemness,’ is abundant in advanced cancers and transforms cells to cancerous state – A protein abundant in embryonic stem cells is now shown to be important in cancer, and offers a possible new target for drug development, report researchers from the Stem Cell Program at Children’s Hospital Boston.
Combined stem cell-gene therapy approach cures human genetic disease in vitro – A study led by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, has catapulted the field of regenerative medicine significantly forward, proving in principle that a human genetic disease can be cured using a combination of gene therapy and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology.
Embryo’s heartbeat drives blood stem cell formation – Clues about how blood forms could yield new strategies for treating blood diseases. – Biologists have long wondered why the embryonic heart begins beating so early, before the tissues actually need to be infused with blood. Two groups of researchers from Children’s Hospital Boston, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) -? presenting multiple lines of evidence from zebrafish, mice and mouse embryonic stem cells -? provide an intriguing answer: A beating heart and blood flow are necessary for development of the blood system, which relies on mechanical stresses to cue its formation.
A major breakthrough in generating safer, therapeutic stem cells from adult cells. – In a paper publishing online April 23rd in Cell Stem Cell, a Cell Press journal, Dr. Sheng Ding and colleagues from the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, report an important step forward in the race to make reprogrammed stem cells that may be better suited for use in clinical settings.
Animal eggs not suitable substitutes to produce stem cells – Since the cloning of Dolly the Sheep over a decade ago, somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) has been considered a promising way to generate human, patient-specific stem cells for therapeutic applications.
Geron Receives FDA Clearance to Begin World’s First Human Clinical Trial of Embryonic Stem Cell-Based Therapy. Geron to Study GRNOPC1 in Patients with Acute Spinal Cord Injury. – Geron Corporation (Nasdaq: GERN) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted clearance of the company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the clinical trial of GRNOPC1 in patients with acute spinal cord injury.
All NIH human embryonic stem cell registry lines now deposited at NSCB – The U.S. National Stem Cell Bank (NSCB) has announced that it has received deposits of two human embryonic stem cell lines from Cellartis AB, a biotechnology company based in Sweden. With the addition of the new lines, the National Stem Cell Bank now has received all 21 cell lines from the six providers listed on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) federal registry.
Scientists call up stem cell troops to repair the body using new drug combinations – Scientists have tricked bone marrow into releasing extra adult stem cells into the bloodstream, a technique that they hope could one day be used to repair heart damage or mend a broken bone, in a new study published today in the journal Cell Stem Cell.
USC researchers derive first embryonic stem cells from rats. Finding represents major breakthrough for biomedical research. – Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have, for the first time in history, derived authentic embryonic stem (ES) cells from rats. This breakthrough finding will enable scientists to create far more effective animal models for the study of a range of human diseases.
The International Society for Stem Cell Research releases new guidelines. Regulation needed as new study reveals clinics exaggerate claims and omit risks. – The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), the world’s leading professional organization of stem cell researchers, released new guidelines for the responsible development of safe and effective stem cell therapies for patients.
